#there’s this gq creator i follow on ig

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[garp20-evie]

The Hero’s Journey Timeline in the Mandalorian

When comparing books, films and more from the twenty-first century to Greek mythology, one major connection is the hero’s journey chart, originally created by Joseph Campbell (Campbell, Cousineau and Brown, 1990). Every story has a beginning, middle and ending, the hero’s journey chart states smaller moments that happen in between that structures the journey a character goes on, such as the call to adventure, a helper, challenge and temptations, and the return, calling it “the one great story of mankind.” (Campbell, Cousineau and Brown, 1990). The hero’s journey chart can be identified throughout every Greek mythological story, but also throughout history “there is a stereotypical journey that the archetype or hero goes on” (Barton-Steel, 2018). Greek mythological stories have survived through reinvention, by being presented in different forms that reflect current topics, in order to help us in our own lives (Hero’s journey, 2020).

In an interview with GQ, the director of the 2019, Disney+ show, The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau spoke of his focus on getting to the heart and true roots of the series, that George Lucas- the creator of the Star Wars franchise, was trying to achieve, “We had a long talk with each other. One thing he said to me was, ’remember, Jon, the real audience for all stories and all myths is the kids that are coming of age’, because he’s really a Joseph Campbell adherent.” (Mullally, 2019)

As both Favreau and Lucas enjoy Joseph Campbell’s work, Favreau spoke on how The Hero’s Journey is used in the Mandalorian, “storytelling is about imparting the wisdom of the previous generations on to the children who are becoming adults, and giving them a context for how to behave and how to learn the lessons of the past without making the mistakes on their own. That’s the hope, that you can teach them how to avoid all the hardship but garner all the wisdom.” he goes on to say, “That’s the mono-myth and that’s the hero’s journey, and ultimately the reward for a life well-lived. I take comfort in those themes, and I like it, and I love sharing that with the next generation and knowing that will be left behind even as our generation passes,” says Favreau (Mullally, 2019). 

So lets look into it…

1. The Mandalorian

The Hero’s journey chart is separated into three sections: the ordinary world/the known, the special world/the unknown and the return, with multiple subsections in each that give more detail to the hero’s journey. These can be viewed as a setting, for the hero’s physical and/or mental journey. 

In a lecture from The Mythos Series, Joseph Campbell speaks about the tale of Percival and The Holy Grail, and its use of the Hero’s Journey chart. There is a great link between this tale and The Mandalorian, with the character Dyn Jarren being our hero. “Black and white are the qualities of every act, every act has both good and evil. What are you going to do living, since everything you do has two effects? All we can do is lean towards the good.” (Parzival: A Tale with Many Tellings, 2019). 

Campbell goes onto discuss how Percival’s journey is about finding God within himself whilst on the quest for the holy grail, which King Arthur’s knights of the round table, are called to search for, “There was no path, but if there is a path it is someone else’s path and you are not on the adventure.” (Parzival: A Tale with Many Tellings, 2019), ultimately this means that King Arthur’s Knights have not started on their ‘hero’s journey’ yet. 

Campbell goes onto explain how someone who doesn’t have a path, can get clue’s from people who have also followed paths, and in the case of The Mandalorian, this person is Greek Karga: the leader of the Bounty Hunters Guild form the planet Navarro, who sends Dyn Jarren on missions in order to complete jobs as a bounty hunter, effectively leading him down paths.

When following the Hero’s Journey chart, we see under the ‘ordinary world’ the first subsection comes as ‘the call to adventure’. In the Disney+ show, this is presented as a dangerous mission with a big bounty and leads our hero, Dyn Jarren, to the planet of Arvala-7. It is there that he meets the mentor Kuiil, who informs him he must continue on a path that his great ancestors took. Kuiil represents the next step of the Hero’s Journey, as the ‘supernatural-aid’.

2. The Child

Nature takes you where you need to go. This applies to both Dyn Jarren and Percivil, who both have to ride an animal and let the animal lead the way, going as far as it can go and ultimately leading Dyn Jarren to the bounty- a small alien of an unknown species, referred to as ‘The Child’, but also goes by the fan-given name of ‘Baby Yoda’- as it is of the same species as the character Yoda, who is also from the Star Wars universe. The Child does not necessarily take the form of The Holy Grail, but rather helps to show Dyn Jarren that ‘the Holy Grail’ is not a physical form, but instead comes as a lesson that he learns later on in the series, and ultimately completes the cycle of The Hero’s Journey.

3. The Sin

Eventually, Dyn Jarren returns to the planet of Navarro, in order to return the bounty-The Child, and get paid. By this point the audience is only in the first three episodes, which cover the first third of the heroes journey cycle- The Known. There is only one way in and out of Navarro, and that is by walking underneath a giant archway- this is an important symbol representing the the Hero’s Journey cycle, and how whenever the Hero travels from one world to the next they must pass through a threshold of sorts (The Mandalorian: Explained, 2020). Even though we previously see Dyn Jarren pass through the arch way, he only truly crosses the ‘threshold’ whenever he is with The Child. This happens when Dyn Jarren decides to not hand over The Child and the duo escapes the planet, ultimately excepting the call to adventure, and entering the second phase of the Hero’s Journey- the special world/the unknown.

4. Sanctuary

The title of this episode informs the audience of how the duo now face sanctuary from other bounty hunters who want The Child, on the planet Sorgan. It is here that Dyn Jarren’s creed is questioned and his honour is put to the test by the possibility of settling and finding a woman’s love, in the character Omera, “You have found your bliss, but it has disengaged you from your world of duties.” (Parzival: A Tale with Many Tellings, 2019). This often happens with knights, as they put their passions before their honour and forget about their knightly duties and the court (The Mandalorian: Explained, 2020). Dyn Jarren is reminded of his true purpose when he is faced with an attack on The Child at the end of the episode, just like how King Arthur’s Knights find Percival and remind him of his knightly duties. This results in the duo leaving the planet and continuing their search for safety, and leaving the ‘temptation’ phase of the Hero’s Journey chart behind them.

5. The Gunslinger

This episode acts as ‘atonement’ stage within the Hero’s Journey guide- where the protagonist would come face to face with a father figure. As Dyn Jarren is a father figure to The Child, this step is inverted, and Dyn Jarren has to kill a younger version of himself in order to move on from his past and except his new found compassion, in order to continue on his journey (The Mandalorian: Explained, 2020). His younger self is presented as Riot Mar- a young bounty hunter hoping to become a Mandalorian, who eventually double crosses Dyn Jarren by taking The Child and attacking the duo's ship, but is later killed by the Mandalorian after a brief fight (List of The Mandalorian characters, 2020).

6. The Prisoner

In this episode, Dyn Jarren refuses to return to the ordinary world/the known world. The protagonist meets multiple shadows of his previous self as a Mandalorian- the crook, the monster, the sadist and the soldier, and later on in the episode we meet the traitor- who represents Dyn Jarren’s current self. By the end of the episode, Dyn Jarren has dealt with all five ‘shadows’ by locking them up in a facility, symbolising how he is leaving the past versions of himself behind and can move forward.

7. The Reckoning

Finally, Dyn Jarren excepts his call back to the ordinary/known world and gathers his allies from throughout the series, to help him protect The Child. It is here that The Mentor- Kuiil, dies whilst protecting The Child- but it is through his death, that Dyn Jarren learns and excepts everything his mentor has taught him in order to complete his Hero’s Journey.

8. Redemption

“The spontaneous act of a noble heart, whose impulse is not that of ego, but of love. And love in the sense of not a sexual love, but of compassion.” (Parzival: A Tale with Many Tellings, 2019) This quote perfectly describes how The Child is able to protect the team of allies at their final hurdle, effectively repaying his dept for the allies having protected him throughout the series. When Dyn Jarren is later trapped inside a burning building, he symbolically dies and enters the underworld, physically and spiritually “No living thing has seen me without my helmet since I sworn the creed.” To which IG-11 replies “I am not a living thing.” (The Mandalorian: Explained, 2020). It is here that the protagonist finally receives his sigil- something he has yearned for since the first episode, as The Childs father. This sigil acts as a combination of his compassion and his honour, it is the middle ground and is something that all knights must learn (The Mandalorian: Explained, 2020). As the group of heroes come to the final threshold in the Hero’s Journey chart, and in order to come out from the underworld and back into the ordinary world, IG-11’s sacrifice to save our story’s hero resurrects Dyn Jarren, resulting in him learning the true value of life- the Holy Grail (The Mandalorian: Explained, 2020).

Even though the ending we are given is not the true ending, as a second season is due to be released in October 2020, this story does complete the full cycle of the Hero’s Journey chart. As well as echoing information from the Star Wars universe, The Mandalorian shows how the cycle can continue again for a new hero, possibly The Child, and how the Hero’s Journey cycle could appear in every season, just presented in different ways. But this is a theory, and I look forward to the second season.

I have spoken.

References:

Barton-Steel, J., 2018. What's So Ancient About Greek Mythology?. [online] Ted.com. Available at: <https://www.ted.com/talks/james_barton_steel_what_s_so_ancient_about_greek_mythology> [Accessed 30 March 2020]. 

Campbell, J., Cousineau, P. and Brown, S., 1990. The Hero's Journey. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

En.wikipedia.org. 2020. List Of The Mandalorian Characters. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Mandalorian_characters#Guest_characters> [Accessed 1 September 2020].

Mullally, W., 2019. Here’S What Jon Favreau And George Lucas Have Been Talking About For The Mandalorian. [online] Gentlemen's Quarterly. Available at: <https://www.gqmiddleeast.com/culture/heres-what-jon-favreau-and-george-lucas-have-been-talking-about-for-the-mandalorian> [Accessed 1 September 2020].

YouTube. 2019. Parzival: A Tale With Many Tellings. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN_NWTV2liA> [Accessed 1 September 2020].

YouTube. 2020. The Mandalorian: Explained. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dEcYXrZc9c&t=105s> [Accessed 1 September 2020].

[makeupjunkiejoanna]

“Music, fashion and beauty icon” Robyn Rihanna Fenty, famously known as Rihanna, is the creator and owner of Fenty Beauty (@fentybeauty). Rihanna has spent years experimenting with the best and most expensive makeup products being a celebrity but noticed the lack of inclusion for women of color in many brands as there was never an adequate shade range for darker skin tones in the makeup industry. As a WOC herself, her plan was to fix that by focusing on curating hard-to-match skin tones, along with the best formulas.

The company uses an incredible amount of social media strategies on its website alone. They provide an about page explaining Rihanna’s story and connection with makeup, and most importantly (and impressively) provide a press page. This page has three different links, All, Influencer, and Press. The influencer page links to YouTube videos where different influencers use their products. The press page provides articles from very notable magazines such as GQ Magazine, Vogue Forbes, etc. that mention new launches from the brand, best products, and more. They also have a gallery page that lets customers add a photo onto the website itself or they can tag #FentyBeauty or @fentybeauty on Instagram for a chance to be featured. The gallery displays photos of different makeup looks from influencers, makeup artists, and regular fans and makeup lovers using their products. They have the posts linked in as well so that you can click and view the post yourself, which also credits the artist just like the YouTube videos from makeup gurus. There is an option to filter the photos so that you can see specific products used in these Instagram posts such as lipstick lipgloss foundation eyeliner and more. They also have a separate page for their global impact, mentioning how they stay green and limit the use of plastic, promoting Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. 

All of these strategies are unique because other celebrity brands tend to not credit artists and influencers or show values and morals publicly because they know they will inevitably make revenue solely for the brand name. Fenty Beauty rebukes that stereotype and doesn’t allow Rihanna’s fame to make the brand pretentious, making them extremely credible and likable to their audience. Being as open as this brand is to its audience makes them very attractive in the eyes of consumers.

On Instagram, @fentybeauty has 10.6 million followers and a total of 6,735 posts. The average ages for the audience of Fenty Beauty on Instagram are 25 to 35, which is at about 68%. The highest percentage after that are 18 to 25 at around 21%, therefore this brand clearly targets a younger audience which is evident in their trendy and engaging content and products. If we look into the psychographics for their audience, the top four interests according to Heepsy are makeup artist, fashion, beauty, and blogger. According to Heepsy, the overall quality score for the Fenty Beauty Instagram account is a 36 out of 100, which is considered a poor score according to this site. They also have a low engagement rate of 0.3% when the average for an account with a high following is 2.5%. 

These statistics are interesting to point out because one would think that a celebrity brand, especially one owned by someone as notable as Rihanna, would have much more engagement and a better quality score on Instagram. This also applies due to their following which is almost 11 million followers. However, this proves that the number of followers or even the already existing fame of the owner of the brand does not always correlate with engagement. 

Fenty Beauty has made a ton of positive efforts with their social media such as strategies used on their website as I stated before. I think the gallery is a brilliant strategy that allows their audience to immerse themselves with the brand, yet their engagements on their IG account are still low. I believe a reason for this is that although Fenty Beauty has its own website, it is also carried at Sephora, one of the biggest makeup distributors in the world, which is known for carrying high-end brands of both high quality and prices. Basically, any brand they carry is destined to make revenue. Also, the fact that it is a brand owned by such a famous celebrity also lessens the significance of their engagement reports since they are going to make money either way because of who they are, and their fans will do or buy anything that they do. Nonetheless, Fenty Beauty is a successful brand with great products and values. I recommend the brand carriers the same strategies used on their website to their IG, responding to comments, and engaging with their audience to boost their engagement numbers. 

References: 

https://www.fentybeauty.com/about-fenty 

https://www.fentybeauty.com/press

https://www.fentybeauty.com/gallery 

https://www.fentybeauty.com/about-fenty-beauty/global-impact

Instagram.com/fentybeauty

Heepsy.com